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Reunion (Richard Smith "Omen")
Finally, Chris found another set of stairs a little ways past the first, and carefully climbed upwards. Opening the door, he found himself in a spacious waiting room with a large crowd of people. They crowded themselves near chairs and the front-desk, each hoping to meet a friend or relative. In one of the room's chairs sat a blond boy who looked to the floor, with a middle-aged older man standing next to him. Opting not to wait at the crowded front-desk for help, Chris approached the two. “Pardon me, sir. Are you able to provide me with directions?” The boy instinctively looked up from his seat. He prepared to say something, but briefly paused upon seeing Wellington's face. "Sure. What are you looking for? Exit, patient rooms?" "Looking for my friends Atticus, Melissa, and some others. Perhaps the exit out of this large facility would be best." The boy's suspicions were confirmed. While he did not wish to jump on the fact the boy's appearance was similar, the names "Atticus" and "Melissa" confirmed the identity of the man in front of him. "Wait. Are you Chris Wellington?" Chris felt surprised at the boy's knowledge of his name. Unsure of how he came to know, he questioned him. "Well ⁠— yes, that would be a term for my classification. How exactly do you know that?" The boy stood up and offered his hand to Wellington. The name "Chris" ⁠— it reminded him of guilt and conflict of the night prior. "My name's Steven, and I'm Melissa's brother. This is our uncle, Dr. Richard Smith. I can bring you to the room where Melissa and the others are," revealed the boy. Chris lightly shook Steven's hand. "Brother?" Chris considered questioning him further, but he was more concerned with the location of the others. "Well, I'd appreciate you taking me there very much." Steven nodded and motioned for Chris to follow him. The three moved past the reception area's frantic crowd, and they walked towards a turquoise door that led to a stairwell. Making sure Chris and Richard were behind, Steven pushed the door open, and they began to climb the stairs. Chris caught up to Richard, following Steven by his side. "You know ⁠— it's crazy when you think about it," Steven said to Chris, as the three began to approach a set of stairs "Past few days have been pretty mundane, and all of a sudden my sister shows up and changes everything. You ⁠— able to relate, Chris?" Wellington briefly pondered the thought. "Well, it has been approximately three hundred years since I was activated for an extended period, so I am unsure. I suppose the meeting of Melissa and the others was a catalyst similar to yours." Steven smiled with interest. The protagonists Steven pushed the door to the hospital's fifth floor open, and they entered into the white hallway. They quickly searched for room number 562. Machines and murmurs were the only sounds that could be heard as the three walked. Bodies in stretchers would occasionally be carried past — survivors of last night's decimation. Steven stopped walking. To his right, a wooden door engraved with the numbers "562". "I suppose I'll stay out here for the time being. Go ahead, boys," Richard told them. The sight of the door left Steven slightly nervous, unsure of what was to be expected. "This is it, Chris. They'll be happy to see you, so you can knock if you want," he asked, turning to Chris. "I suppose I shall," replied Chris. Chris walked towards the door, and began to lightly tap his hand. A muffled voice called out. "Who is it?" Confidently, the android swung open the door. "It's me, Chris. I am relieved to have discovered your present location." Melissa perked up upon seeing the recognizable face of Wellington. She jumped up from her seat and ran over to him, hugging him tightly. "Thank God you're okay! I was so, so worried!" she said to Chris. "Relieved that you're okay as well, Melissa." Chris responded. "I hope Atticus and everyone else is alright." Chris looked out into the hallway for a second. "Steven, would you mind coming in?" Steven nodded and followed Chris into the room. Atticus looked up from his bed as the two boys entered the room. "Chris? How are you here? How did you find us? And is that—" Melissa looked into the hallway and noticed the boy emerging behind Chris. She gasped softly at the sight of her brother. Smiling, she skipped over to him. "Steven! Glad to see you." she said happily, to his surprise. "Come on in, I want to introduce you to everyone." Steven nodded, smiling. He followed Melissa into the room, and took a seat. ---- "...In the clearing, I located two boys ⁠— Levi and Graham. They seemed to be camping, and they were accompanied by a large rabbit. The most intriguing thing about these two, however, was the nature of their conversation. They spoke of a "The Demon" constantly, as if he was a leader figure. I did not ask too many questions, and I parted ways with them after they gave me directions." The four others in the room listened with interest as Chris continued to recount the events after his separation from everyone else. For Atticus, Marshall, and Melissa, the day they were without Chris was like an eternity. "Their directions turned out to be accurate, for I was able to make it to Silivia shortly after. Then, as you all have mentioned previously, Alchemilia Corporation made that announcement. I was very fearful of what would happen upon my capture, so I hid as best as I could." Chris continued. "I thought I was in the clear for some moments before two things occurred. One, the rain. Two, a strange man suddenly attempted to shoot at me. I cannot quite remember much due to my malfunctions, but I remember escaping him, then blacking out. I woke up with a man in the hospital, and it led me here." Chris stopped talking, and everyone took his words in. Of all who had already told their stories, Wellington's was by far the most substantial. "What strange man? Catch what he looks like? You fight him?" questioned Marshall, who was the first to comment. "I am unsure. In the pouring rain, I think I saw him having a mask." Chris responded. Atticus sat up on the edge of his bed. He had listened closely to the others in the room, not wanting to interrupt anyone with questions. With Chris finished, however, Atticus wanted answers on a selection of things. "Okay, then. Wow." Atticus said, speaking up. "Seems everyone had their own struggles. But, I still have things to ask. What are angels and demons? Did we see one in the forest?" The room fell silent on Atticus' question. Melissa, Marshall, and Chris sat in thought, unsure of how to answer. "I could answer, if you want." The voice of Steven broke the silence, as everyone turned to look at him. "Otherworldly beings as those are the main focus of the Laboratory." "Oh come on, is this really—" "Enough, Marshall." said Atticus. Ignoring the pleas of the boy, he turned his focus to Steven. "I woke up in a barn barely remembering who I was. It would be nice for some form of explanation on what I've been hearing and seeing, anything you can provide." Steven nodded and sat back in his chair, as all eyes were on him. He placed his hand on his chin, deep in thought. "Well," he began. "To first... To first understand angels and demons, we need to discuss parallel universes." Suddenly, the room was swept by confusion. Changing his prior plan, Marshall began to engage in the conversation. "What?" he said, blankly. "My appendix does not include such terminology. Can you elaborate?" commented Chris. Atticus scratched his head. "I'm not following. A parallel⁠— world?" "It's easier when you first learn it as a kid. With the state of everything now, this knowledge is hard to come by," said Steven. "This world — this universe, rather, is one of many. I don't know how many they are, but there are more. Based on everyone's description of the thing in the forest, it was probably a demon. A creature from another universe, that entered into Euclid." The room listened closely to Steven's lecture. Melissa sat confused, attempting to follow Steven's words. "Wait, um — so you're saying.." she said, attempting to form a clear question. "I mean, I don't what to say, Steven. You're saying demons and angels don't come from Euclid? A 'parallel universe'? What even is that? How do you know all this stuff? How do humans know this?" she asked, piling questions onto her brother. "Hm.." Steven thought. "It's not the easiest topic to grasp. To keep the 'parallel universe' concept simple; consider it like this. We," Steven began to make hand gestures, attempting to simplify the topic. "Are one universe. Demons and angels come from a different universe, completely separate from this one." Steven momentarily stopped speaking, giving a chance for his information to sink in. "Alright," Atticus said, speaking up. "Okay.. then. You say they come from whatever a 'parallel universe' is. Do they have a planet to themselves, or..?" "Just about to get to that," replied Steven. "Listen closely — Within this parallel universe, demons and angels originate from a planet called Eden." "Eden?" asked Atticus. "I think I've heard that word before, maybe. If ⁠— Eden is apparently separate from this universe, how exactly did angels and demons come here? When did they get here?" "Well, you see," began Steven, "Demons came first — and they suddenly appeared sometime three hundred years ago. After they ravaged the planet for a few months, Gabriel Alchemilia would create a portal to Eden. Led the angels to come here, and at that point, this planet would change forever. The existing war between angels and demons became worse, and now humans are caught in the middle." The name "Alchemilia" set off some bells within the room. For everyone, the name represented the tumultuous times of the past few days. "Okay, okay ⁠— so demons just 'show up', and that CEO we met a few days ago makes a 'portal'? How is that even possible? Angels and demons were at war? If this was apparently three hundred years ago, how the hell is Gabriel still alive?" asked Atticus, confused by Steven's words. "Could you just tell me more, if you can?" "That individual certainly appeared to have a high level of intelligence. He was able to travel between these 'parallel universes'?" added Chris. Steven chuckled, falling slightly back into his chair. "I cannot answer all of those questions, in truth. I'm still learning things from Richard. Primary sources from the old Euclidean era are rare, so I'm still looking into that. Some say he's immortal ⁠— I wouldn't be the one to ask for that history. If you decide to look deeper into this stuff, then you get into the theistic aspect of our history." "Theistic?" asked Melissa. "Relating to supposed deities and metaphysics. It's where things, in my opinion, really start to get abstract and confusing. Some people claim a hidden leader is behind the demon army, a former deity that became a beast after their soul was fragmented. Legends claim you can see their soul as a red light." Steven said. "This idea is taken seriously by many, even for those who are not religious. Eden is already evidence of there being many universes, so — makes you think, I guess." One of the words in Steven's explanation caused an alarm to go off within Chris' brain, much like the others in room. "Red light? Specifically scarlet-colored?" Chris asked. "Back at the barn where we woke up, we saw the sky turn red and glow in a rather ominous way. Could this be connected?" All waited for an answer from Steven, for the sighting of that mysterious light was one of their earliest memories. "I — I don't know, really," Steven said, shrugging his shoulders. "Never realized the connection until then. You picked my brain, I suppose." All those in the room sat silent, for their idea on the nature of their world was completely changed. "Wow." Atticus said, under his beath. "Welp, I learned a few new things today," said Marshall, breaking the silence. "I've seen demons like, a few times in Gladea." "It's an interesting topic," replied Steven. "If you want, you can come on over to the lab this afternoon. Also, don't you all need a place today? If you need somewhere to rest, I know a man with quite a few beds." Melissa perked up at the mention of "a place to stay." "That would really help!" she exclaimed. "Finally have a bed to sleep on. Where is this guy?" Steven smiled. "Interesting fellow, he has his own laboratory. Knew him when I was younger; I can get Richard, my uncle, to drive us there." "That's a really great idea, I know I'd appreciate having a real place to stay," Chris said, delighted. "Well, only if Samuel approves me bringing all of you. Though I'm sure he might like new subjects," explained Steven. "Subjects? I really don't like the sound of that," Chris said. "Are you saying he experiments on people? Like, will all five of us suffer by going there, or will we benefit?" Melissa looked at her brother confused. "What do you mean new subjects?" She asked. Steven was amused at their curiosity. He smiled, not wanting to reveal the secret of man's work. "Not anything violent. It will be fine, I promise. He studies.. a unique field." "I guess we can do that, then," Chris said. "But we still have a major problem to deal with." "Hm?" questioned Steven. "What is it?" Turning his attention to Steven again, he nodded. "This sounds interesting and all, but before we go there, we need to focus on our group. Savannah is still missing."